Adapted from the MTA Summer Conference Workshop Copiloting: A toolkit for cooperating teachers. The education profession depends on the willingness of professional…
Observational Tools for Teacher/Faculty Feedback (Part 1)
Have you been asked to observe a fellow educator? Are you enrolled in school administrator preparation program? Are you supervising…
Do Your Job, Superintendents
The annual checklist of district and school state requirements is available for your list-reading pleasure. The 2016-2017 Superintendent’s Checklist is…
Needs Sensing Survey from US ED
The United States Department of Education (US ED) with the Northeast and Islands Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) is collecting information on the…
MA DESE and ESSA Stakeholder Outreach
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires state education agencies engage with stakeholders – students, parents, educators, community – in…
MCAS 2.0 Vendor Announced
What is old is new again. Measured Progress, the longtime test developer and vendor for the MCAS exam, has been…
Digital Learning Blog
Got technology? Check out the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education Digital Learning Blog!! Read about creative uses of…
Changes to Licensure?
Did you ever want to be a doctor but found the exams and medical school to be just too burdensome?…
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Did you miss the BESE meeting this week? We got ya covered! The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education documents are…
Autism Endorsement for non-Special Education teachers?
DESE wants your thoughts on making the Autism Endorsement available (but not required by regulations) to general education teachers who…
Applications open for Teacher and Principal Advisory Cabinet
Got opinions on education policy? DESE is accepting applications for the 2016-17 Teacher and Principal Advisory Cabinets. From DESE: Additionally,…
Speak up on School/District Accountability
If you have an opinion on the methods Massachusetts uses to rank schools based upon test scores, DESE wants to…
Got thoughts on Licensure?
DESE is looking for your good ideas about making that Byzantine licensure system, well, a bit less byzantine. Applications due April…
US Ed School Climate Surveys
The United Stated Department of Education (ED) has made available a set of free tools for schools on Safe Supportive…
MCAS 2.0 Development
MCAS 2.0 is not taking the Commuter Rail to the next-generation assessment station. This train has left the building. DESE…
MCAS 2.0 Bid Posting
Do you have what it takes to develop the next-generation MCAS test? Read the press release from DESE announcing the opening…
BESE March 22, 2016 Documents
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education documents are now available here. On the agenda this week: Items for…
ELA & Math Frameworks Review
Speak now or hold your peace until the next round of revisions! DESE is collecting feedback on the current English Language…
Just Say No to the VISTA Survey
MTA is reminding members that the VISTA Survey shared by DESE is voluntary. MTA reccomends educators opt out of taking…
What’s In and What’s Out -NCLB to ESSA
US ED has released an FAQ on what is in an what is out during the transition to the new…
DESE Educator Effectiveness Guidebook for Inclusive Practice
DESE has released a set of materials for educators designed to support inclusive practices in the classroom. The complete set…
Adios, Highly Qualified Teachers
Well, not exactly. We want YOU to stick around but the federal requirement for core teachers to be “Highly Qualified” will…
Research on Snow Days from HKS
Joshua Goodman from the Harvard Kennedy School release a paper analyzing what happens when Massachusetts schools do – or do…
DESE Memo on Alternative to Snow Days
MTA Note: At this time, MTA has not taken a position for or against the use of alternative instructional strategies…
DESE Charter School Recomendations 2-16-16
Commissioner to Recommend Two New Charter Schools and 1,500+ New Seats in Existing Charters Board of Elementary and Secondary Education…
WIDA – Free ESL/ELL PD
Massachusetts is a member of the WIDA consortium. Educators can create a free profile on the WIDA page and have…
MTA Presentation on ESSA 2-10-16
The Massachusetts Teachers Association presented an overview of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the 2015 re-authorization of the Elementary and…
CEPP & MTA Provide Overview of new federal education law to MA lawmakers
FED LAW COULD PROMPT MASS. TO RETHINK EDUCATION APPROACHES [+VIDEO] By Katie Lannan STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON,…
Commissioner’s Weekly Update – February 5, 2016
News from Commissioner Mitchell Chester & the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner’s Weekly Update – February 5,…
Commissioner’s Update-Friday Messages for All
Link to the Commisioner’s Update archives and sign up information.
U.S. ED – ESSA Links
The United States Department of Education (ED) is updating a new section of their website on the Every Student Succeeds…
DESE Data Updates 2016
Typically DESE posts updated student data for the current school year in January. The following updated data have been posted…
Publications from the Center for Education Policy and Practice
CEPP publishes professional practice briefs, research reports and policy guides for educators in Massachusetts. Read more about our work here.
VISTA Survey
February 1 Update on VISTA Survey by MTA CEPP. Includes links.
MTA Today
Links to MTA Member news publications.
